LTAC subcommittee recommends approval of four institutions’ distance-education plans; committee outlines process changes

The Learning Technology Advisory Committee’s operations subcommittee recommended that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board staff and commissioner approve four institutions’ Institutional Plans for Distance Education (IPDEs) after finding the submissions met requirements in the Texas Administrative Code.

The recommendation — read by Dr. Luke Dowden, chair of the operations subcommittee — covers Angelo State University, Midwestern State University, Texas Woman’s University and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at El Paso. “After a diligent review of the institution’s narratives and supplemental information, the subcommittee has found that each of the IPDE submissions provide evidence compliance with the principles of good practice for distance education,” Dowden said. The committee then voted; chair Patrick Plush announced the motion carries.

Why it matters: LTAC’s endorsement is the formal step that forwards the subcommittee’s recommendation to coordinating board staff and then to the commissioner, who issues the final notification to institutions. The committee also used the first full IPDE cycle under the new rules to surface process improvements intended to…